Listrin Des'Tambor
Elven male, born LY 862, in Woodstockade. Husband of Anais; father of Vallery. Don of the Woodstockade branch of LandOrder. Listrin (pronounced lĭs·trĭn) comes from a family of modest means, most of them artists (predominantly writers and musicians), a trade which has run in the family since the first generation, starting with Sybil, wife of Tambor. (It was Tambor, however, for whom the clan would later take its surname; he was a master carpenter.) Listrin himself would sometimes write poetry, but only as a hobby. Like his ancestor Tambor, his main career was carpentry. He learned the trade from his father, Zozin, whom he often assisted on jobs, from the time he was about twelve years old. It was on one such job, when he was nearly fourteen, that he met Anais, the daughter of a clan that had hired his father to work on a construction project of theirs. Anais was just a couple of months older than Listrin, and the two soon became friends. It was in 877, about a year after they met, that they married, and less than a year after that, they had a daughter, whom they named Vallery. (Anais had turned 16 a few weeks before Vallery's birth, and Listrin would turn 16 a little over a month after his daughter's birth.) Unlike most elves, Listrin and Anais only ever had one child. It wasn't until Vallery was thirteen that her parents conceived a second child; tragically, complications with Anais's pregnancy caused her not only to lose the baby, but also to lose the ability to ever carry another child to term. This loss hit the whole family hard, but none more so than Listrin, who soon took to drinking heavily. This interfered with his work, and people soon stopped hiring him. He eventually got sober, but his reputation had been permanently damaged. Anais had an intermittent income as an actress, but it was hardly enough to support the family. Even Vallery got a part-time job, but that also proved insufficient. It wasn't long before the family had used up their savings, and it became increasingly difficult to put food on the table, or much of anything else. And while both Listrin and Anais had come from loving families, who did what they could to help them out financially, none of them could afford to provide as much help as was needed. It was in 893 that Listrin first began stealing food, just so his family wouldn't starve. Within a few months, it became obvious that that wouldn't be enough; they were in danger of losing their house. And so, he began stealing other things, and selling them to a fence. To Listrin's surprise, he turned out to have a talent for theft, which his fence also quickly realized. Before long, he made Listrin a partner, and began teaching him other aspects of his business. Their operation grew, and within a few years they had at least a dozen employees. When his partner retired in 898, Listrin took over the business, and continued to expand. When Durell of Sorret contacted Elf Chief Castor Des'Eller in 901, and began negotiations for the elves to support the Coming of the Order, he also secretly contacted Listrin, and told him of how gangs in human villages had been getting more organized since 899, and had begun forming inter-village alliances. It's unknown whether he introduced Listrin to any human gang dons at the time, but at least he sent some Sorreters to Woodstockade (some of whom, such as Nicolai Blitz, may have worked for gangs), to help organize and expand criminal activities in the elven village. Until then, in spite of the existence of crime in Woodstockade, there had never truly been anything that might be called a gang, even on the more innocent level that gangs occupied in human villages, prior to 899. But due to Durell's influence, Listrin's business became more profitable than ever, and he liked the thought that he'd never again have to worry about his family's finances. He also liked the idea of elves rejoining human society, and even if the elven authorities were strongly against crime, and were greatly disturbed by rumors they began to hear of gangs forming in their village, Listrin believed that he was playing an important part in causing Des'Eller to go along with Durell's plans. (Certainly gang activity in Woodstockade increased Des'Eller's desire to have their police join InterVil.) It wasn't until 903, sometime after the Battle of Elves' Ambush (in which the elves officially made their presence and support of the Coming known to the Protestant Movement), that Listrin's organization officially joined LandOrder. Listrin quickly forged friendships with a number of other dons, including Don of Plist. (It was also around this time that Listrin had a chance to join the Experimental Linguists' Club, of which Roderick, the creator of the elven race, had been a member before being banished in 773.) It should also be noted that it was sometime between 901 and 903 that Vallery joined her father's newly established gang as its chief spy, after years of having worked for his "business" in a less official capacity. Aside from Vallery, it isn't known if any other of Listrin's relatives work for LandOrder. But it is known that he has a nephew named Remy, an hautbasist who it's rumored was granted a seat in the Royal Orchestra due to a favor owed Listrin by King Demos Royal himself. This rumor was never given much credence, until events in 912 revealed that Demos was guilty of any number of criminal activities, himself. But whether or not any of Listrin's relatives have an interest in a life of crime, they have never been known to hold Listrin's crimes against him, knowing that he did what he felt necessary to support his wife and daughter. And by all accounts, Listrin remains a friendly sort, and does his best to ensure that his subordinates in LandOrder don't do anything too nefarious, if they can possibly help it. Listrin is considered by most people who know him to be as honorable a man as a gangster can be. He also is well known for eschewing alcohol, and his branch of LandOrder has no involvement in distributing alcohol. While he doesn't forbid his employees to drink, he strongly encourages them to only do so in moderation. He is also said to have made donations to groups that work to fight alcoholism in Woodstockade, as well as other charitable organizations. Category:People